Improvement in machines for scouring and decorticating grain



W. P. nosmson. MACHINES FOR SCO U'RING ANTI) D ECORTICA TING GRAIN. m'.1ee,5a9.

Patented 2101231875.

N.PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. Cv

UNITED *STATES WILLIAM rrrr ROBINSON,

OF. BUFFALO, YORK.

.IMPROVEMENT lN MACHINES FOR SCOURING AND DgE-CQRTLCATJING,GRAIN.

. ,Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. ;l69,589, dated November 2, 1875; application filed July 29, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM Prr'r ROBIN- SON, of the city ofwButfalo, county of Erie :and State of New York, have inventedcertain Improvements in. Machines for Scouringand \Decorticating Grain, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this, my invention, is to improveupon. machines. heretofore invented for. nulling, cleaning, and-decort-icating grain and seeds; such. machine, for instance, as those described in the Letters Patent of theUnited @States issued to me, dated the 15th day of January, l872,=for improvement in grain scouring machines, and other like Letters Patent issued to me, dated the 9th day of J uly,,l872, for improvements in graindecortibutton-heads, are passed into lugs in the said stationary hoppers, in order to fasten the hoppers to theiposts, these slots being used instead of round holes simply to render the hoppers adjustable in height. It relates, secondly, to the construction. of a series of scouring-wheels, having the general form of the body of a funnel, and attached to a vertical shaft which passes up through them centrally. When the shaft revolves, these scouringwheels revolve, of course, and they have their motion within a cylindrical shell of wire-cloth or perforated sheet metal, and their outer peripheries do not extend quite to such shell, but leave a sufiicient interval between them for the grain or seeds to fall through when thrown out against the shell by the operation of the machine. These grinding-wheels are provided on their under or outer sides with both horizontal and vertical ribs or ridges, to act as heaters upon the grain or seed against the upper surfaces of the stationaryhoppers, just below them. It relates, thirdly, to the combination of a foot piece or step for the said vertical shaft, a lever, a screw, and the frame, adapted to render the shaft adjustable .vertically. It relates,ifourthly, to arplainthin perforated stationary hopper of the same general form; with the i-inperforated. stationary hoppers in combination therewith,. andl with the blowing: apparatus allvof which wilt-be .hereinafter.more; fully described. v

In theaccompanyin ,9; drawing, Eigurelrepre- .sents a. centralvertical. section of a machine embracing myimprovements; Fig. 2, a front .elevation of ahportion ot' the lengthofi one of timed, and e the-slots,.an d e-tl1escrewvheads therein 5 H, the verticalfshafuand H. a bandpulley on the .upperi end thereof,- and .I z" z" the blower,, fixed.upon the shaft also; Gisthe foot-piecefor the vertical shaft; K, a lever, pivoted to the lower-side thereotflatone. end, and operated by thescrew mat. the other, to .raiseandllower the shaft. The cross-piece F .and the foot-piece G, together with thestationary hoppers, serve to. make a-stilftfraine for the operative parts. The letter- .B indicates the scouring-wheels, which are attached at their respective centers to, the shaft H, which is inclosed by the cylinder of wire-cloth or perforated sheet metal t 2' t, and n n arethe vertical or radial -ridges beforetmentioned. D D are the solid stationary hop.pers, and O O the perforated stationaryhoppers, both having lugs, into which enter the button-headed screws 0 through the slots 6 in the posts E, and thus they are held in any position to which they may be adjusted by means of the slots 6 and the button-heads of the screws 6.

The stationary hoppers do not extend to and touch the inner perforated hollow cylinder, and an annular space is left, therefore, between their inner edges and that cylinder, through which the grain and seeds fall upon the next scouring-wheel below, which in revolving throws them out by centrifugal force over'their peripheries, and thence they fall upon the next stationary hopper below, and then slide down by the'force of gravity, and are scoured, abraded, and decortioated by the heaters on the under side of the scouringwheel. In this operation the stationary hoppers hold the seeds and grain against the heaters, and both the scouring-wheels and that their distance may be regulated as may be desired, according to the size and character of the seeds or grain to be operated upon. The outer perforated cylinder A incloses the hoppers and grinding-wheels, and may be in a continuous sheet or may be in sections, extending'from one post to another, and be fastened to each. 1

S indicates an imperforated case, which serves among other purposes to confine-the draft of air made by the blower within the machine until it has done its work.' The radial and circular ribs or ridges on the under side of the scouring-wheels are remarkably efficient in their action upon the grain. The

. radial ridges serve to spread the grain in thin sheets upon the stationary hopper below, and

1 to act upon and roll over each individual seed or berry, and thus secure thorough and uniform work. The horizontal or circular ridges,

on the other hand, not only act upon the grain by their surfaces, but they also prevent a too rapid downward flow of 'the grain, some portions of which otherwise might escape downward before it had been thoroughly .acted upon. I

.In operation the blowing apparatus performs an important part.

.suitable construction, as I claim nothing as new in that apparatus.

In the drawings, Fig. 1, the fans 2' i are placed upon the upper end of the shaft, and .pthe draft, of course, will come from below up through the machine, passing upon the under 1 A, and will carry away with it such dirt, dust, .bits of bark, and foreign matters as are contained in the grain as fast as .they shall be ground or broken loose therefrom.

In the drawings the perforated and imperforated hoppers alternate with each other. I The imperforated ones are thicker and strong- It may be of any.

through spout 0 above, and is discharged through spout 61 below.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the post E, provided with a series of vertical slots, 6, the buttonheaded screws 6, and the hoppers GG B B B, adapted to hold up the frame and to hold said hoppers in an adjustable manner, substantially as shown and described.

2. The scouring-wheels B, having horizontal ridges or beaters 0 on their under sides, in combination with stationary hoppers D and G, substantially as and for the purpose de scribed.

3. The combination of the scouring-wheels 13, having radial or vertical ridges n in their under sides, and the series of stationary hoppers D G, constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination'of the scouring-wheels B, having the horizontal ridges or beaters 0, and the vertical or radial ridges n, and the series of stationary hoppers D (J, substantially as and for the purpose described. a

5. The scouring-wheel B, provided with the radial ridges n and the horizontal ridges 0 on its under side, substantially as and for the purpose described.

. WM. PITT ROBINSON.-

Witnesses:

M. B. MOORE,

. D. D. .BENsoN. 

